Medina startup Darkside Scientific develops light-up paint

Scott Shaw, The Plain DealerDarkside Scientific sales vice president Scott Smith, left, founder and chief executive Andy Zsinko, center, and Sleeper customs co-owner Jason "Dr. Strange" Gray stand in front of Darkside's invention, a paint that glows when an electric current runs through it. The Medina startup began selling the paint to custom bike and car shops last month.

MEDINA, Ohio -- Souped-up custom cars with LED lights under the frame? How 2011.

Darkside Scientific, a startup in Medina, has seen the future of cool - entire paint jobs on cars that can light up at the flip of a switch.

After several years of development and a patent filing earlier this year, Darkside began selling its Lumilor light-up paint, which glows when an electric current passes through it, to hot-rod customizers last month. The company is in talks with paint companies and several industrial manufacturers who see value in the product, said Andy Zsinko, Darkside founder and self-described lab rat.

The combination of paint and lighting could be a crossover product for two of the most popular segments of the car-customizer industry -- hot rod paint jobs and custom light kits. The Specialty Equipment Manufacturers Association trade group estimates that hot rodders spent $36.5 million last year on custom paint jobs and another $166.2 million on custom light kits.

A skateboard-size swath of light-up paint could cost as much as $400, Zsinko said. The company chose to focus on hot rods and custom motorcycles initially because customizers are often willing to spend big to get unique rides. And what could be cooler than a flame that actually flicker?

Scott Shaw, The Plain DealerDarkside has experimented with light-up guitars. With the right electronics, musical instruments could flash and pulse in time with music. This is a before picture with no electricity running through the paint.

Longer term, he sees growth coming from more mundane applications such as interior lighting for cars and emergency signs in industrial plants and hospitals.

Asked how he came up with the idea of electro-luminescent paint, which glows when an electric current passes through it, Zsinko said, "It had to do with mass quantities of beer."

Jason "Dr. Strange" Gray, a co-owner of Sleeper Customs in Euclid, the first shop to license Lumilor, said, "This is going to be huge. I've been having people ask me left and right if we can do something to their cars."

Several companies produce electro-luminescent tape or decals. And light-up wiring has caught on with some theatrical costumes, allowing dancers to weave light-emitting materials into their costumes. But paint is more versatile because it can cover complex shapes and larger surface areas, Zsinko said.

Though he grew up in his father's body shop, Zsinko spent most of his career managing computer networks. He still did custom paint jobs, but mostly as a hobby for friends. In 2005, a friend asked him to do "something cool" for his motorcycle, and Zsinko got the idea of using glow-in-the-dark paint.

Scott Shaw, The Plain DealerWith a small electric current running through it (provided by nine-volt batteries), this is how a guitar painted with Lumilor would look on a dark stage.

"It came out cool, but it was a failure," he said. "You couldn't control the effect."

Also, about an hour after dusk, the glow would dim.

After experimenting with dozens of materials, he finally started getting good results last year. Since then, he's been focusing on getting more light out of the paint and cutting costs. One of the phosphorous compounds that Zsinko uses costs $300 for an eight-ounce jar.

Lumilor must be applied carefully in several layers. Lower layers create the electrical field. On top of that goes the phosphorous-based materials that glow, and it all gets covered with clear coats of paint. Zsinko said you also have to add electrodes to activate the electrical field.

Gray said it's not a terribly complicated process for people already familiar with automotive painting. Darkside's paint is either blue, green or white. Gray said you can get other colors by adding tint to the clear coat.

Colosimo said he was skeptical when he heard from Darkside, but he decided to visit their shop, tucked away in a Medina industrial park.

"I get probably 100 people a week who contact me about the business opportunity of a lifetime," Colosimo said. "But once I saw what they were doing in person, I totally got it."

In addition to the car and motorcycle crowd, Smith said he's been reaching out to guitarists and other musicians. Several companies make glow-in-the-dark guitars, but he said there should be a bigger market for guitars that can glow and pulse in time with the music.

Zsinko said people looking for something cool will be the early adopters of his product, but he sees an even brighter future with more practical applications.

Lumilor isn't bright enough to replace headlights in cars, but it could conceivably replace turn signals, removing the need for bulbs and plastic covers.

Zsinko said he doesn't even try to think up applications for Lumilor.

"I ran out of imagination a couple of years ago," he said. He added that he's excited about how many companies are showing an interest because that gives him the opportunity to get back in the lab and "play mad scientist" with formulas.

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